'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the casa, ni un raton se movia; carramba, que pasa?

Los ninos were all tucked away en sus camas, some in long underwear, some in pijamas. While mama worked late in her little cocina, El viejo was down at the corner cantina, living it up with amigos, carrajo!, muy contento y un poco borracho.

The stockings were hung with mucho cuidado, in hopes that old St. Nick would feel obligado, to bring a los ninos both buenos y malos, a nice batch of dulces y otros regalos.

Outside in my yard there arose such a grito that I jumped to my feet like a frightened cabrito. I ran to the window y mire afuera and who in the world do you think that it era? St. Nick in a sleigh and a big red sombrero, came dashing along like a crazy bombero! And pulling his sleigh, instead of venados, were eight little burros, approaching volados.

I watched as they came and this quaint little hombre was shouting and whistling and calling by nombre: Ay Pancho! Ay Pepe! Ay Cuca! Ay Beto! Ay Chato! Ay Chopo! Ay Maruca y Nieta!

Then standing erect with hand en su pecho he flew to the top of our very own techo. With his round little belly like a bowl of jalea, he struggled to squeeze down our old chimenea. Then huffing and puffing, at last in our sala, with soot smeared all over his traje de gala, he filled all the stockings with bonitos regalos, for none of the ninos had been muy malos.

Then chuckling aloud, seeming muy contento, he turned like a flash y volo como viento. And I heard him exclaim y es la verdad! "Merry Christmas a todos, Feliz Navidad!"